How To Fix Common HTC One M8 Problems and Errors [Part 3]

Part 2

Welcome to the third part in this series of troubleshooting articles dedicated to the HTC One M8. We have been preoccupied lately with Samsung devices that we have somewhat neglected other brands which is why we are featuring this model today. Truth be told, we receive lots of emails regarding Samsung devices compared to other brands. This is the reason why you see several Samsung related troubleshooting articles on our mailbag posts.

Anyway, todays post is all about the M8. Several of our readers have sent us an FB Page detailing the issues and concerns they have with their device. We have analyzed each email and have provided our solutions below.

If you own an M8 or any other Android device for that matter feel free to send us an email regarding your concerns. We will do our best to answer your questions and the best part of this all is that this is a free service.

You may also reach us at our Facebook and Google+ social media accounts.

M8 Camera Lens Scratches

Problem: Hi, I recently bought an HTC one m8 and have taken very good care of it. Although I have been extremely careful, the rear facing cameras have become scratched to the point of seriously affecting the picture quality. Upon doing an internet search on this issue, I’ve found out I’m not alone and it has something to do with the coating on the rear lenses. I have found several suggestions that range from using toothpaste, to brasso or even the edge of a credit card to scrape the coating off, but I’m sure you can understand why I would be very dubious about resorting to any of these methods. Do you know of anything that would remedy this please as my camera is basically useless.

Solution: This is one of the main issues owners of this device are facing. It seems that the camera lens cover gets easily scratched from daily use. Apparently this camera lens has a protective coating over it and in time this causes what appears to be scratches. The common suggestions of fixing this such as using a toothpaste or scraping it off with a credit card works by actually taking off the protective coating. You could also try cotton dipped in alcohol and try to clear up the lens protector.

If the scratches are done on the lens protector itself then no amount of toothpaste or rubbing will fix it and the only way to get rid of the scratches is to have the lens protector replaced.

M8 Clone Issues

Problem: Hi, I bought a 1:1 clone HTC one m8 from china. They said it would have octo core MTK6595. It arrived, and is a custom clone, with MTK6582, running Android 4.4.2 with “Model Number: HTC One_M8” and “Build: KOT49H release-keys” and “Custom Build: 1402912247”. It has a custom ROM and the firmware and bootloader updates I tried all failed. The fastboot and root access doesn’t work fully, and my OS is different from the genuine HTC OS too. Oneclickroot.com guys couldnt do it, after about 6 hours I have now decided that it is a working brick @). My device reports from adb/fastboot

• C:\adb>fastboot devices
• mt6582_phone    fastboot

• C:\adb>adb devices
• List of devices attached
• 0123456789ABCDEF

I have emailed the company I ordered from, but have yet to receive any reply on this topic. Dodgy chinese clones with unknown OS, and hardware too!  Would be great to find a way to add a fresh OS and root it, as I cant use Supersu or any advanced android apps.

Solution: The problem with clone devices is that it comes with limited support from the manufacturer and even from the Android community. This is the reason why there’s not much customization that you can do with these devices. If you really want an Android device that you can easily customize then try buying some of the popular brands that have a wide base of community support.

M8 Vibration Stopped Working

Problem: I have always used my vibration and its been a few days now since it up and stopped working altogether. I’m using the stock keyboard with the vibrate feedback at the touch of the keys. I also normally have my alarm, ringer etc. on vibrate as well. Im getting no feedback from it at allllll and its driving me nuts.

Solution: First make sure that you have activated the vibration feature of the device.

• From the home screen, tap the All Apps icon. (To quickly set the phone to Vibrate Only, press the Volume Down button until the vibrating handset icon appears)
• Scroll to and tap Settings.
• Scroll to and tap Sound.
• Ensure the Sound profile is set to Normal.
• Tap Vibrate to enable or disable the feature for calls and notifications. (The Vibrate checkbox is disabled when the Sound profile is set to Silent or Vibrate.)
• Scroll to Vibrate on touch and tap to enable or disable vibrations when pressing soft keys and on certain user interface interactions.
• The vibration settings are now set.

Next, make sure that Do Not Disturb is not enabled. You can check this from the quick settings menu by pulling it down from the top of the screen. You can also check on this from the main settings section, choose “Sound,” and then “Do Not Disturb.”

If the vibrate feature is still missing then you might want to do a factory reset on your device. This reverts the device to its original condition when you first bought it. Make sure to backup all your important data first.

• Make sure the device is turned off
• Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then press and hold the POWER button.
• Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
• Press VOLUME DOWN to select FACTORY RESET, and then press the POWER button.

M8 Keeps Restarting

Problem: My HTC M8 keeps restarting. It will stay on for maybe a min then restarts, same process over and over. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Solution: First make sure that you are running the latest software update on your device. Check it out first as it usually contains several enhancements and fixes for common issues.

Backup all your data and do a factory reset.

• Make sure the device is turned off
• Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then press and hold the POWER button.
• Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
• Press VOLUME DOWN to select FACTORY RESET, and then press the POWER button.

Once the factory reset has been done observe your device if it still restarts. If the problem still occurs then this may be caused by a faulty hardware. I suggest bringing the device to an authorized service center for checking.

M8 Music Player

Problem: Hello I’m recently having trouble with my HTC one music player. Whenever I press play then lock my phone after a couple of minutes, it stops suddenly. It also happens sometimes when I’m using the phone but mostly when I lock it. Can you please help me find a solution to this sudden stop?

Solution: See if there are any new software updates for your device. If there are then download and install it since it will have several enhancements and bug fixes for your device.

Next, try using another music player app instead of the stock music player app. You may want to check the Google Play Store for the music app that you want to use. If the problem does not occur then chancer are the issue is with your stock music app. Try clearing out its cache.

• From the home screen, tap the All Apps icon.
• Scroll to and tap Settings.
• Scroll to and tap Apps.
• Swipe to the ALL tab.
• Scroll to and tap the MUSIC application.
• Scroll to and tap Clear cache.
• The application cache is now cleared.

M8 Hotspot Issue

Problem: Hey Droid Guy, I have a couple issues that I have tried to resolve using multiple resources but I haven’t found the information needed to resolve. I have an HTC One M8 which I have rooted. 1. Before I rooted my M8, the camera started showing “blurry” or “hazy” images through the viewfinder and pictures taken. Software is up to date, so I don’t know why all of the sudden the camera lost significant quality. 2. I have rooted my last 5 Android phones, mainly for the hotspot use, and have never had an issue with connection to other devices. However, the hotspot feature on my M8 will connect to other devices but there is no internet access. I have tried two different ROMs and all other aspects of the phone work flawlessly. This is very frustrating! Please Help!Thanks

Solution:  First make sure that your data connection is turned on. Also make sure that your data plan is active. Now, check and see if your hotspot is properly setup.

• Go to Settings, and then under Wireless & networks, tap More.
• Tap Mobile network sharing.
• Tap the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot On/Off switch to turn it on.
• The first time you turn on the Wi‍-Fi hotspot, you’ll need to set it up.
• Enter a hotspot name or use the default.
• Enter a password or use the default.
• The password is the key other people need to enter on their device so they can connect and use HTC One as a wireless router.
• Tap Next and then tap Done.

Using another device search for the hotspot and try connecting to it using the password you chose.

M8 Headphone Jack Problem

Problem: I have a problem with my device headphone. Only one side of the headphone works. I’ll have to pull the plug out a little and twist it a bit until it worked. I’ve tried a couple of headphone apps to try to fix this issue and sometimes it’s worked, but will go back to only one side after unplugging and replugging the headphones in. I just purchased last Friday so most likely will be going to exchange it if there is no fix.

Solution: Have you tried using another headphone? Usually when only one side of a headphone works then it may be caused by a cut wire on the headphone itself. Try to check the headphone jack for any dirt or debris that may be inside it. If there are try to clean it with a toothpick.

If you are still having issues with your headphone after performing the above solutions then this might already be a hardware issue and since this is a newly purchased device you can have it replaced.

HTC One M8 Battery Issues

Problem: I have a problem with my M8 as after a minute or two of using the phone (over wifi when i wake up in the morning) I lose about 1-2%! in seconds to minutes. all straight from unplugging from the charger. why is this? I’m coming from an iphone where100% would usually last at least 20 minutes of use!

Solution: If your device is new then the battery might still be stabilizing itself. Below are some common battery saving tips that you can apply on your device.

• Turn off wireless connections such as mobile data, Wi‍-Fi, or Bluetooth when not in use.
• Turn GPS on only when a precise location is needed, such as while using navigation or location-based apps.
• If the Sleep mode option in Settings > Power is enabled, at low peak times, your phone will turn off the data connection after the screen has been off for 15 minutes and there’s no network activity (no downloads, streaming, or data usage). The data connection resumes when you switch the screen back on.
• Use automatic brightness (the default) in your display, or manually lower the brightness.
• Don’t use a live wallpaper for your Home screen. Animation effects are nice to show off to other people but they drain your battery.
• Install the latest software and application updates. Updates sometimes include battery performance improvements.
• Uninstall or disable apps that you never use.